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Background:\ud \ud Control and elimination of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) can be accelerated through the use of diagnostic tests that are more accurate and easier to deploy. The goal of this work was to evaluate the immuno-reactivity of antigens and identify candidates to be considered for development of a simple serological test for the detection of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense or T. b. rhodesiense infections, ideally both.\ud \ud Methodology/Principal Findings:\ud \ud The reactivity of 35 antigens was independently evaluated by slot blot and ELISA against sera from both T. b. gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense infected patients and controls. The antigens that were most reactive by both tests to T. b. gambiense sera were the membrane proteins VSG LiTat 1.3, VSG LiTat 1.5 and ISG64. Reactivity to T. b. rhodesiense sera was highest with VSG LiTat 1.3, VSG LiTat 1.5 and SRA, although much lower than with T. b. gambiense samples. The reactivity of all possible combinations of antigens was also calculated. When the slot blot results of 2 antigens were paired, a VSG LiTat 1.3- ISG75 combination performed best on T. b. gambiense sera, while a VSG LiTat 1.3-VSG LiTat 1.5 combination was the most reactive using ELISA. A combination of SRA and either VSG LiTat 1.3 or VSG LiTat 1.5 had the highest reactivity on T. b. rhodesiense sera according to slot blot, while in ELISA, pairing SRA with either GM6 or VSG LiTat 1.3 yielded the best results.\ud \ud Conclusions:\ud \ud This study identified antigens that were highly reactive to T. b. gambiense sera, which could be considered for developing a serological test for gambiense HAT, either individually or in combination. Antigens with potential for inclusion in a test for T. b. rhodesiense HAT were also identified, but because their reactivity was comparatively lower, a search for additional antigens would be required before developing a test for this form of the disease.

Background\ud \ud The African trypanosome Trypanosoma brucei is covered with a dense layer of Variant Surface Glycoprotein (VSG), which protects it from lysis by host complement via the alternative pathway in the mammalian bloodstream. Blocking VSG synthesis by the induction of VSG RNAi triggers an unusually precise precytokinesis cell-cycle arrest.\ud \ud \ud Methodology/Principal Findings\ud \ud Here, we characterise the cells arrested after the induction of VSG RNAi. We were able to rescue the VSG221 RNAi induced cell-cycle arrest through expression of a second different VSG (VSG117 which is not recognised by the VSG221 RNAi) from the VSG221 expression site. Metabolic labeling of the arrested cells showed that blocking VSG synthesis triggered a global translation arrest, with total protein synthesis reduced to less than 1–4% normal levels within 24 hours of induction of VSG RNAi. Analysis by electron microscopy showed that the translation arrest was coupled with rapid disassociation of ribosomes from the endoplasmic reticulum. Polysome analysis showed a drastic decrease in polysomes in the arrested cells. No major changes were found in levels of transcription, total RNA transcript levels or global amino acid concentrations in the arrested cells.\ud \ud \ud Conclusions\ud \ud The cell-cycle arrest phenotype triggered by the induction of VSG221 RNAi is not caused by siRNA toxicity, as this arrest can be alleviated if a second different VSG is inserted downstream of the active VSG221 expression site promoter. Analysis of polysomes in the stalled cells showed that the translation arrest is mediated at the level of translation initiation rather than elongation. The cell-cycle arrest induced in the presence of a VSG synthesis block is reversible, suggesting that VSG synthesis and/or trafficking to the cell surface could be monitored during the cell-cycle as part of a specific cell-cycle checkpoint.

Expression of transgenes is central to forward and reverse genetic analysis in Trypanosoma brucei. The inducible expression of transgenes in trypanosomes is based on the tetracycline repressor binding to a tetracycline operator to prevent transcription in the absence of tetracycline. The same inducible system is used to produce double-stranded RNA for RNAi knockdown of target genes. This study describes a new plasmid pSPR2.1 that drives consistent high-level expression of tetracycline repressor in procyclic form trypanosomes. A complementary expression plasmid, p3227, was constructed. The major difference between this and current plasmids is the separation of the inducible transgene and selectable marker promoters by the plasmid backbone. The plasmid p3227 was able to support inducible expression in cell lines containing pSPR2.1 as well as the established Lister 427 29-13 cell line. p3666, a derivative of p3227, was made for inducible expression of stem loop RNAi constructs and was effective for knockdown of DRBD3, which had proved problematic using existing RNAi plasmids with head-to-head promoters. The plasmid system was also able to support inducible transgene expression and DRBD3 RNAi knockdown in bloodstream form cells expressing tetracycline repressor from an integrated copy of the plasmid pHD1313.